Giving boardrooms a broadcast makeover

Giving boardrooms a broadcast makeover

Corporate communication is no longer just about slides and screens. As LIVE discovered on a recent London site visit, broadcast-grade technology is transforming the way businesses tell their stories

Words Verity Butler

For years, corporate AV was a quietly functional discipline. Screens worked (most of the time), microphones were checked, presentations were delivered and the technology largely stayed out of the way. But something has changed. As organisations speak to larger, more distributed audiences, the expectations placed on internal and external communications have risen sharply. Today’s town halls, investor briefings, leadership updates and hybrid events are closer to television programmes than PowerPoint meetings.

It’s in this context that LIVE was invited on a site visit to a major corporate headquarters in London. What we saw inside its newly transformed auditorium was unmistakable: a fully-fledged, broadcast-quality production environment built around tools more commonly found in television studios than office buildings.

At the centre of this shift is Ross Video, whose broadcast AV philosophy is increasingly finding a home in corporate spaces. To understand why, and what it looks like in practice, LIVE spoke with Bryan Davies, regional sales manager for corporate, EMEA at Ross Video, whose team was deeply involved in this project and several others.

AV in the auditorium

The London auditorium we visited was once a familiar sight in many large organisations: a well-intentioned but underused space, limited by ageing technology and rigid workflows. According to Davies, the ambition was not simply to upgrade the kit, but to reimagine what the space could be.

“The project transformed an aging, underutilised auditorium into a broadcast-quality live production environment. Rather than deploying traditional point-to-point AV, the design adopted a software-defined, broadcast-centric architecture using Ross Video production technologies.”

This move away from conventional enterprise AV toward a broadcast model is significant. Instead of isolated devices connected in fixed ways, the system was designed as an integrated production environment.

“The heart of the solution involves a Ross production control and routing solution framework, thereby making it a closed environment for a live event studio. This solution incorporates Ross’s vision for open, scalable and open-interoperable technology platforms for ease of scalability.”

One of the most striking aspects of the visit was how calm and confident the AV team appeared. Despite the sophistication under the hood, the system felt approachable, familiar even, to operators that are used to corporate environments.

“A critical design goal was delivering broadcast-grade output while maintaining simplicity for day-to-day operators.”

Achieving that meant choosing tools that brought professional power without overwhelming users. Davies points to several core decisions that shaped the experience:

“Using Carbonite production switchers to provide a familiar, reliable control surface with advanced features such as macros and scene recall. Implementing Dashboard for centralised system control, monitoring and automation.

“Ultimately, designing preset-based workflows reduced technical complexity for operators while still retaining that creative flexibility.”

Together, these decisions saw to it that the system could be trusted in high-pressure moments, while remaining usable for everyday internal events. As Davies notes:

“These choices ensured the system could be operated confidently by AV staff while still supporting advanced live production workflows.”

One space, many use cases

Walking through the auditorium, it was clear that flexibility was paramount. On any given week, the space might host a leadership broadcast, client-facing presentation or polished internal event with multiple contributors. The Ross ecosystem is designed precisely for this kind of adaptability.

“The auditorium now supports a broad range of events by leveraging Ross’s modular production ecosystem.”

Preset-based workflows are able to reduce technical complexity

Preset-based workflows are able to reduce technical complexity

Davies explains how each component plays its part:

“Carbonite enables seamless switching between cameras, presentation sources and remote contributors. Then, Ultrix provides flexible signal routing, format conversion and future expansion without re-cabling.

“Additionally, Xpression allows for branded graphics, lower thirds and dynamic content for executive and corporate messaging.”

The result is a space that can shift gears quickly, without technical reconfiguration or downtime.

“This solution allows the space to transition quickly between different types of live video productions such as executive briefings, internal broadcasts, hybrid meetings and larger live events.”

Perhaps the most telling feedback came not from the finished look of the space, but from how it changed daily operations for the in-house AV team.

“Ross technology has significantly simplified production workflows while increasing output quality.”

Davies highlights several practical benefits of this: “Operators can prepare events faster using macros and saved configurations. Consistent routing and signal management through Ultrix reduces troubleshooting time. Plus, centralised monitoring through Dashboard improves both system visibility and reliability.”

These efficiencies add up, shifting the focus of the AV team away from firefighting and toward creativity.

“With these workflows in place AV teams spends less time managing technology and more time focusing on storytelling, content creation and delivery and event quality.”

Integrating broadcast workflows into a business environment isn’t without its challenges, notes Davies.

“In most corporate environments that involve implementing broadcasting workflows into the business setting there can be some challenges.”

However, he emphasises that usability played a critical role in overcoming this.

“Nonetheless, the easy-to use-interface of the Ross production tools helped bridge the gap quickly.”

What surprised many stakeholders was not the reliability, but the creative potential that emerged once the system was in place.

“One surprise was the creative freedom unlocked by the system. Capabilities like graphics, multicamera recording and transitions gave the environment an enhanced quality above and beyond what was possible with a straightforward presentation setting.”

In short, once teams experienced what was possible, expectations shifted and there was no appetite to go back.

Why the shift?

The London project reflects a wider trend Davies is seeing across the landscape. Corporate communication has scaled dramatically, and the tools of the past are struggling to keep up.

“Companies are talking to bigger audiences more often. Pitches, meetings, company updates and live events now reach people around the world.”

These moments carry weight both culturally and financially.

“These moments matter. Traditional AV systems weren’t built for that level of pressure. They can be hard to scale, hard to manage, and unreliable when it counts.”

By comparison, broadcast systemsare purpose-built for live and mission-critical environments.

“Broadcast-grade systems give companies confidence that their message will look good and work each and every time.”

When live communication is vital and failure isn’t an option, broadcast heritage offers a clear advantage.

“Broadcast systems are designed to work well in live environments,” says Davies, “with no time for error.”

Ross technology has significantly simplified production workflows while increasing output quality

That reliability matters deeply in corporate contexts.

“This is important when businesses are communicating with employees, management and/or investors in a live setting.”

“Additionally, these solutions are scalable; designed to allow businesses to implement what they want and scale up when their needs increase.”

Unlike many enterprise AV deployments, broadcast systems are built with the long term in mind.

“Broadcast systems are also superior to traditional AV solutions in terms of longevity and the needs of the business.”

Looking ahead

Standing in the London auditorium, it’s hard not to see a glimpse of the future. Corporate spaces are becoming studios. Internal events are becoming productions. And audiences, whether they are in the room or halfway around the world, are expecting more from AV than ever before.

Davies believes that this trajectory will only accelerate further.

“Companies will keep doing more live video, internal events will feel more like shows rather than meetings and storytelling and brand consistency will matter even more.”

Ross Video’s role is clear. “Ross Video will continue to bring broadcast-level tools into corporate AV spaces, helping companies communicate clearly, reliably and at a higher standard, without making things more difficult  to run.”

As our site visit showed, when broadcast discipline meets corporate purpose, the result is not just better AV, it’s better communication.

This article was first published in the Spring 2026 issue of LIVE.